The Swedish government’s announcement that it is launching an inquiry to overturn the existing ban on mining uranium, which has been in place since 2018, is the start of a process which could result in new legislation that makes it legally possible to mine uranium and provides “a predictable permit process for uranium extraction alongside the mining of other metals”, Andrew Gove, the chief executive of Australia-based Aura Energy, said.

Gove said the inquiry, announced earlier this week, is a logical step by the Swedish government towards allowing the extraction of uranium domestically to secure its own and others’ needs.

The inquiry will investigate the regulatory changes needed to make uranium extraction legal, and analyse whether mining of uranium should be allowed.